Fiber opener and cleaner



July 29, 1969 Filed Sept. 28, 1967 LEROY E. SCHULZE 3,457,595

FIBER OPENER AND CLEANER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 TO CONDENSER INVENTOR. LE ROY E. SCHULZE A TTORNEKI July 29, 1969 LEROY E SCHULZE 5 vFIBER OPENER AND CLEANER Filed Sept. 28, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. LEROY E. SCHULZE ATToRNEKr United States Patent 3,457,595 FIBER OPENER AND CLEANER Leroy E. Schulze, 1300 Toshay Tower, Minneapolis, Minn. 55402 Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 426,786, Jan. 21, 1965. This application Sept. 28, 1967, Ser. No. 671,393

Int. Cl. D0113 3/00 US. Cl. 19-203 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A mechanical unit for opening, cleaning and sometimes drying a lap of partially cleaned plant fibers based upon a modified cotton lint cleaner and including in sequence, rollers for advancing and squeezing the lap, a slow speed feed roller and a plurality of yieldably mounted pedals to urge the lap against the feed roller, at least one intermediate speed transfer roller to separate fibers from the lap on the feed roller, a high speed saw cylinder to receive and further separate fibers from the transfer rollers, at least one cleaner adjacent the periphery or the saw cylinder in the path of the ends of fibers carried by the saw cylinder and air blast means to remove the fibers from the saw cylinder. The unit is adapted to be divided by baffies into laterally spaced zones for simultaneous multiple passes of material.

This application is related to and is a continuation-inpart of my copending application Ser. No. 426,786, filed Jan. 21, 1965, for Preparation of Purified Vegetable Fibers, now Patent No. 3,351,519 granted Nov. 7, 1967.

In my copending application, Ser. No. 426,786, there is disclosed a process by which clean, bleached, undegraded virgin plant fibers are extracted and freed from woody portions and other unwanted fragments and contaimants of the plant stem. That process is particularly directed to the preparation of linen fibers from seed flax straw. The successful extraction of clean virgin fiber from plant stems, such as seed flax straw, without chemical degradation of the fibers and with minimum mechanical degradation, requires a series of progressive cleaning steps, both mechanical and chemical. To facilitate handling of the fibers through various of the treating steps, is is desirable to form the fibers into a loose lap or batt which is subsequently separated into individual fibers for further treatment of the fibers.

The present invention is directed to a preferred form of apparatus for opening and cleaning, and sometimes drying, fibers fed into it in the form of a lap or batt. The apparatus has structure held in common with cotton lint cleaners, but is characterized by improved feeding means providing for gentler treatment of the fibers so as to minimize mechanical breakage of the fibers while permitting vigorous treatment to dislodge clinging bits of shive or other woody contaminants from the individual fibers. The apparatus is also characterized by being divided into separate treating zones to permit simultaneous treatment of the fiber material in each of several zones by permitting the same stream of fibers to pass through the apparatus several times.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which corresponding parts are identified by the same numerals and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a vertical elevation in section of the opener, cleaner and dryer apparatus of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a similar side elevation in schematic form showing an air separator or fiber condenser associated with the opener, cleaner and dryer;

3,457,595 Patented July 29, 1969 FIGURE 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2 and in the direction of the arrows, and

FIGURE 4 is a top plan view showing in somewhat schematic form the means by which the fiber stream is conducted through the apparatus in several successive passes.

Referring now to the drawings, the opener and cleaner apparatus according to the present invention, indicated generally at 10, is comprised of a frame on which are supported a front wall 11, back wall 12, side Walls 13 and 14 and top wall 15 which generally form a housing enclosing the apparatus. The unit may rest on the floor or be mounted on an elevated platform or pedestal de pending upon the other machines in the processing line from which fibers are fed to the opener and cleaner and to which fibers are fed from it. The direction of move ment of the fibers being processed is generally from upstream on the left hand side of FIGURE 1 to downstream on the right hand side.

The unit comprises a receiving chamber 16 in the form of a box or trough extending transversely from one side of the apparatus to the other. A pair of spaced apart advancing rollers 17 and 18 are mounted for rotation in the receiving chamber 16, extending the length of that chamber, journalled and driven for rotation in opposite directions as indicated for receiving and advancing a lap or batt of fiber from a preceding processing machine, such as a picker-lapper or garnett-lapper, or the like. Rollers 17 and 18 may be corrugated or knurled. The fiber lap is squeezed and compressed to some extent as it is advanced by rollers 17 and 18 passing downwardly through a vertical channel formed between transverse plates 19 and 20 to a further pair of advancing rollers 21 and 22. These rollers also extend the width of the machine between the side walls and are journalled and driven to rotate in opposite directions to advance and further squeeze and compress the lap of fiber, and at a slightly higher rate of peripheral speed so as to draw out and extend the lap somewhat.

The lap is fed downwardly through a further vertical channel formed between plates 23 and 24 to toothed or knurled feed roller 25 which likewise extends across the width of the apparatus between the side walls and rotates at a still higher rate of peripheral speed to further draw out the lap. As viewed in FIGURE 1, feed roller 25 rotates in a counter-clockwise direction at a relatively slow peripheral speed.

The lap of fibers is fed between feed roller 25 and a plurality of individually and resiliently mounted relatively narrow piano key rocking pedals 26. The downstream end of each pedal 26 is arcuate and conforms generally to the surface of feed roller 25 to urge the lap into contact with the feed roller. Each rocking pedal 26 is mounted for limited rotation about shaft 27 extending between the sides of the apparatus. Each rocking pedal 26 is individually resiliently mounted by means of a coil spring 28 attached at one end to the upstream end of the pedal and at the other end to a bracket 29 supported by the apparatus frame. Spring 28 thus resiliently urges each pedal 26 toward feed roller 25. Adjustable stop means 30 bearing against a transverse beam 31 forming part of the apparatus frame permits adjustment of the spacing between each rocking pedal and the feed roller. Rocking pedals 2-6 serve to retard the rate of advance of the lap of fibers and, because of their individual resilient mountings, are capable of adjusting for variations in the thick ness and density of the lap.

In a cotton lint cleaner, the lint feeds directly from the feed roller 25 to the saw cylinder 32. In the present apparatus, however, the feed roller 25 is elevated and spaced from the saw cylinder. A first transfer roller 33 is-mounted above the saw cylinder between the feed roller and saw cylinder and in close proximity with both. The saw cylinder and transfer rollers extend the width of the apparatus. The surface of the transfer roller 33 is covered with a myriad of closely spaced projecting wire fingers or pins, preferably sloping in the direction of rotation of the roller. Transfer roller 33 is rotated in the direction opposite to that of feed roller 25 and at a peripheral speed intermediate between the speeds of the feed roller and saw cylinder.

The multi-fingered surface of transfer roller 33 moving in close proximity to the surface of the feed roller and at a higher speed combs out and separates the lap of fibers carried by the feed roller and plucks individual fibers and tufts of fibers from the lap. These fibers and this combed out and partially separated lap are carried around the periphery of the transfer roller 33 to the saw cylinder 32 which is mounted to rotate in the opposite direction and at a higher rate of speed. As the teeth of the saw discs comprising the saw cylinder contact the combed out and separated lap of fibers presented at the surface of the transfer roller 33, the lap is further combed out and separated, largely into tufts of fibers and individual fibers.

A further transfer roller 34 which is similar in construction to transfer roller 33 is mounted above saw cylinder 32 in close proximity to the first transfer roller and the saw cylinder. Second transfer roller 34 is journalled to rotate at the same speed as, and in the same direction as, the first transfer roller. As the combed out lap of fibers is carried about the periphery of the first transfer roller 33 between the feed roller 25 and saw cylinder 32, it will in most cases be irregular in thickness and density. Some areas will be combed out less than others due to compacted masses of fibers and the like which are permitted to pass the feed roller without jamming due to the individual resilient mountings of the rocking pedals. The second transfer roller 34 effects a further combing out and separation of the already combed out and separated thinner lap of fibers carried by the first transfer roller by acting primarily upon those thicker more dense irregular areas from which part of the fibers and tufts of fibers are combed out and separated and carried about the second transfer roller for transfer to the saw cylinder.

In a typical machine, advancing rollers 17 and 18 and rollers 21 and 22 have diameters of about 6.5 and 4.5 inches, respectively. The first pair of advancing rollers may be rotated at about 77 r.p.m. to produce a peripheral speed of about 130 feet per minute and the rollers are spaced about A to inch apart. The second pair of advancing rollers are spaced apart only about inch to compress the lap and are rotated at about I r.p.m. for a peripheral speed of about 140 feet per minute to slightly draw out the lap before presentation to feed roller 25. The feed roller 25 may have a diameter of about 3.5 inches. When rotated at about 175 r.p.m. its peripheral speed is about 175 feet per minute. The intermediate transfer rollers 33 and 34 may then have diameters of about 6.5 inches. When rotated at about 200 r.p.m. their peripheral speeds are about 350 feet per minute. This then means that the lap of fibers presented by the feed roller 25 is combed out and blended to about twice its original length.

The saw cylinder may then have a diameter of about 16 inches and be rotated at about 1500 r.p.m. This results in a peripheral speed of about 6000 feet per minute so that the lap is combed out to over 17 times its length as presented by the transfer roller 33 and over 35 times its original length as presented by feed roller 25. The 16 inch saw cylinder has 530 teeth around its circumference. For each 2.7 inches the lap is advanced by the transfer roller it is contacted by 530 saw teeth which pluck away fibers and tufts of fibers.

It will be understood that the roller dimensions and rates of rotation may be varied widely. However, the relative dimensions and peripheral speeds as between feed roller, transfer roller and saw cylinder should preferably be maintained generally the same so as to effect a combing out and elongation of the lap from feed roller to saw cylinder between about 25 to 50 times its original length, with about 0ne-fifth to one-twentieth of the elongation being between the feed roller and first transfer roller. The feed roller should have a minimum peripheral speed of at least about 60 to 240 feet per minute.

One or more individually mounted and adjustable cleaner bars 35 are mounted across the width of the apparatus in close proximity to the surface of the saw cylinder 32. As the fibers and tufts of fibers are separated by the teeth of the saw cylinder from the transfer rollers, the free ends of the fibers extend outwardly as a result of centrifugal force due to the relatively high speed of rotation of the saw cylinder. These outwardly extending free ends of the fibers are then flung violently against the edge of each cleaner bar as the fiber is carried past it by the saw cylinder. This action tends to jar and knock loose any bits of shive or other contaminants which are more brittle than the flexible fibers.

Loss of short length fiy fiber along with the shive and other contaminants is minimal and such fiber can be separately recovered for use in paper making and the like. Means for separating short fibers from shive is shown in my prior United States Patent No. 2,957,209. Plates 36 and 37 mounted in the bottom of the housing define a channel through which the shive and other contaminants separated as a result of action of the cleaner bars drop for collection for further treatment or disposal.

A plenum chamber 38 which is adapted to be connected to a large volume high velocity air source is disposed within the housing below and downstream from the saw cylinder. This air may be heated in some instances where drying of the fibers is desired or necessary. The plenum chamber has an adjustable restricted throat 39 directed generally tangentially against the surface of saw cylinder 32 downstream from cleaner bars 35. The high velocity air blast emanating from the restricted throat 39 doffs the individual fibers and tufts from the saw teeth of the saw cylinder and propels them into discharge conduit 40. From duct 40, the fibers are conveyed to a condenser 41 for separation of the air from the fibers and reformation of the fibers into a loose lap for introduction to diflerent apparatus for other processing or for reintroduction to an opener and cleaner unit for further similar treatment, preferably by recycling through a separate zone of the first opener and cleaner apparatus.

Although air dofling is a preferred method for removing fibers from the saw cylinder, a brush dotfer may in some instances be used instead. The use of air dofiing permits operation of the saw cylinder at substantially higher speeds than does the use of brush doffing. In addition, troubles often encountered with brush dofiing are eliminated by the use of air dofiing.

Where the further opening and cleaning treatment of the fibers is carried out according to the preferred method, by recycling through separate zones of the same apparatus, the condenser 41 is mounted on top of the opener and cleaner apparatus as shown in FIGURE 2 displaced laterally as shown in FIGURES 3 and 4. The fibers discharged from the opener and cleaner unit are conveyed through suitable duct work along a flow path indicated schematically at 42 to the inlet 43 of the condenser.

The condenser includes a scroll housing 44 surrounding a perforated drum 45 which extends the full width of the condenser housing and is hollow to permit application of suction through the drum surface for separation of air from the fibers and formation of a further fiber lap on the surface of the drum. Drum 45 is mounted and driven to rotate in the direction of decreasing cross sectional area of the scroll housing. Drum 45 is mounted immediately above advancing rollers 17 and 18 so that its surface is immediately adjacent to the surfaces of the advancing rollers, but offset from the feed chamber 16 of the first treating zone. In this manner the new lap formed on the condenser drum is removed by the advancing rollers and fed into the next zone of the opener and cleaner unit.

As best seen in FIGURE 3, the opener and cleaner unit is provided with a plurality of laterally spaced vertical bafiles 46 and 47 extending the full height and length of the apparatus dividing it into a plurality of zones, here indicated as three and designated A, B and C. Bafile 47 extends up and into the condenser around drum 45. A further baffle 48, in conjunction with baffle 47, divides the condenser 41 into a plurality of zones, here indicated as three and designated A, B and C. It will be noted that condenser zone A is immediately above opener and cleaner zone B and condenser zone B is immediately above opener and cleaner zone C.

Fibers processed by passage through opener and cleaner zone A are passed through appropriate duct work along path 42 to the inlet of condenser zone A. The fiber lap formed on drum 45 in zone A is then fed back into the opener and cleaner zone B. This material is then discharged and passed to the zone B inlet to the condenser for feeding directly to zone C of the opener and cleaner. The fiber lap discharged from zone C of the condenser is then passed on to the next processing or treatment step.

Because the volume of fiber material being treated in each zone is progressively decreased slightly by the amount of shive and other contaminants and fly fiber removed, each successive zone, if desired, may be slightly narrower than that preceding. Because of this, the overall length of the condenser may be slightly less than that of the opener and cleaner. While the apparatus is shown divided into three zones, this may 'be either more or less depending upon the overall width of the machine, its capacity and the volume of fibers to be treated.

It is apparent that many modifications and variations of this invention as hereinbefore set forth may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. The specific embodiments described are given by way of example only and the invention is limited only by the terms of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An opener and cleaner apparatus for partially cleaned plant fibers comprising in sequence within a housmg:

(A) means within the housing adjacent an inlet thereto for advancing, compressing and drawing a loose lap of partially cleaned plant fibers;

(B) a toothed feed roller mounted below said advancing means and journaled for rotation on a horizontal axis in one direction at a relatively slow peripheral speed;

(C) a plurality of individual resiliently mounted arcuate lap retarding pedals partially embracing said feed roller;

(D) a first mnlti-toothed transfer roller mounted parallel to and immediately adjacent to said feed roller and the free ends of said pedals and journaled for rotation at a relatively higher peripheral speed than the feed roller and in the opposite direction;

(E) a saw-toothed cylinder mounted generally below and parallel to and immediately adjacent to said first transfer roller and journaled for rotation at a relatively higher peripheral speed than the transfer roller and in the opposite direction;

(F) a further transfer roller mounted parallel to said first named transfer roller and said saw-toothed cylinder and above the latter;

(G) the periphery of said further transfer roller being immediately adjacent to the peripheries of both said first named transfer roller and said saw-toothed cylinder;

(H) said further transfer roller being journaled for rotation in the same direction as, and at the same speed as said first named transfer roller;

(I) at least one cleaner bar mounted adjacent to said saw-toothed cylinder in the path of the ends of fibers carried on said cylinder; and

(J) means for dofling fibers from said s-a-W toothed cylinder and discharging said fibers from the opener and cleaner.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1 further characterized in that the teeth of said transfer rollers are in the form of pins extending from the surfaces of the rollers and sloping in the direction of rotation of the rollers.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1 further characterized in that means are provided to drive said feed roller at a peripheral speed of at least about 60 to 240 feet per minute.

4. An apparatus according to claim 3 further characterized in that:

(A) means are provided to drive said saw-toothed cylinder at a peripheral speed from 25 to 50 times the peripheral speed of said feed rollers; and

(B) means are provided to drive said transfer rollers at a peripheral speed of about one tenth to one twentieth the peripheral speed of the saw-toothed cylinder.

5. An opener and cleaner apparatus for partially cleaned plant fibers comprising in sequence within a housing:

(A) means within the housing adjacent an inlet thereto for advancing, compressing and drawing a loose lap of partially cleaned plant fibers;

(B) a toothed feed roller mounted below said advancing means and journaled for rotation on a horizontal axis in one direction at a relatively slow peripheral speed;

(C) a plurality of individual resiliently mounted arcuate lap retarding pedals partially embracing said feed roller;

(D) at least one multi-tooth transfer roller mounted parallel to and immediately adjacent to said feed roller and the free ends of said pedals and journaled for rotation at a relatively higher peripheral speed than the feed roller and in the opposite direction;

(E) a saw-toothed cylinder mounted generally below and parallel to and immediately adjacent to said transfer roller and journaled for rotation at a relatively higher peripheral speed than the transfer roller and in the opposite direction;

(F) at least one cleaner bar mounted adjacent to said saw-toothed cylinder in the path of the ends of fibers carried on said cylinder;

(G) means for doffing fibers from said saw-toothed cylinder and discharging said fibers from the opener and cleaner;

(H) said apparatus being divided into a plurality of side-by-side treating zones by means of at least one vertical baffle disposed within the housing intermediate of the sides thereof and extending the full height and length of the housing;

(I) an air separating fiber condenser comprising a scroll housing with an inlet and discharge outlet, a rotatable foraminous drum and means for drawing air through the drum is mounted above said opener and cleaner with the discharge of said condenser overlying the inlet of the opener and cleaner;

(1) said condenser being divided into a plurality of side-by-side condensing zones by means of at least one vertical baffle extending the full height and length of the condenser housing;

(K) said condenser being offset laterally relative to the opener and cleaner by the width of the first opener and cleaner treating zone; and

(L) the first condensing zone corresponding in width to the second opener and cleaner treating zone and the last condensing zone being offset from the last opener and cleaner treating zone.

6. An apparatus according to claim 5 further characterized in that:

(A) the discharge from the first treating zone of the opener and cleaner is connected to the inlet of the first condensing zone;

(B) the discharge from each subsequent treating zone of the opener and cleaner is connected to the inlet of the corresponding condensing zone; and

(C) the discharge from the last condensing zone overhangs one end of the opener and cleaner.

7. An apparatus according to claim 6 further characterized in that said opener and cleaner and said condenser are each divided into at least three zones.

8. An apparatus according to claim 7 further characterized in that:

(A) the second treating zone of the opener and cleaner is narrower than the first such zone;

(B) the first condensing zone corresponds in width to that of the second treating zone of the opener and cleaner;

(C) each subsequent opener and cleaner treating zone is narrower in width than the preceding treating zone; and

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 11/1959 Vandergrifi et a1. 19-205 2/1964 Latour 19203 12/1967 Reddick 19-202 FOREIGN PATENTS 12/1954 Italy.

9/ 1933 France. 8/ 1937 France.

DORSEY NEWTON, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

@33 3 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,457,595 Dated Jub 29, 1969 Inventor(s) Leroy Schulze It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 1, line 3, "Toshay" should be -Foshay-.

SIGNED AND SEALED DEC? Mama mm E. suuuym. JR.

milieu" or Patents 

